Carbon–phosphorus bond cleavage and carbon–carbon bond formation at a di-iron centre: formation of ethyl acrylate via extrusion of methylene from bis(diphenylphosphino)methane
Abstract
Treatment of [Fe2(CO)6(µ-CO)(µ-Ph2PCH2PPh2)] with ethyl diazoacetate under UV irradiation gives [Fe2(CO)6(µ-CHCO2Et)(µ-Ph2PCH2PPh2)], which on heating undergoes double P–CH2 bond cleavage and C–C bond formation, forming CH2CH(CO2Et) and [Fe2(CO)6(µ-PPh2)2].